Olive Sustainability Website
Research - Projects
OliveOilMedNet
Mediterranean Network for the Promotion of Sustainability & Authenticity in Olive Oil Sector (OliveOilMedNet)
OliveOilMedNet improves the olive oil sector by introducing innovative and effective ways through testing & validating relevant existing novel and ecofriendly concepts on the field of “sustainability” and “authenticity. To attain its’ objective, it brings together Public Authorities, Producers’ Associations and Research Institutions from 7 Mediterranean countries, adopting, further building and go beyond on the existing practices that have been already developed. OliveoilMedNet strengthens the capacity of the national/regional/local authorities engaged in the policymaking in the olive oil sector, and the capacity of olive oil companies to produce more competitive, “authentic” and “green” olive oil products.
Coordinator: Eirini Sylleli – Preveza Chamber, Greece
Partner: Universidad de Jaén (INUO-UJA), España
Coordinator researcher at UJA: Sebastián Sánchez Villasclaras ssanchez@ujaen.es (University Institute of Research on Olive Grove and Olive Oils)
Budget: € 2,529,900.00 (Amount UJA € 300,000.00)
LIFE OLIVER
OLIve tree for Verified Emission Reduction generation (OLIVER)
On March 17th, there was a positive outcome from the European Commission for the European project OLIV.E.R. – OLIve tree for Verified Emission Reduction generation, No. 101114119 – LIFE22-CCM-IT-LIFE, under the topic LIFE-2022-SAP-CLIMA-CCM – Climate Change Mitigation, with a duration of 48 months.
LIFE OLIVER aims at tackling the reglementary, social and economic barriers which is currently jeopardizing this process by developing and certifying an international standard allowing to olive oil producer to have access to the carbon credit market, increasing and fostering the awareness of farms with respect to the Verified Emission Reduction market and leading the olive farms to sale their carbon certificates obtained by the adoption of a carbon farming approach.
Coordinator: Primo Proietti – Universita Degli Studi di Perugia, Italy
Partner: University of Jaén (UJA), Spain
Coordinator researchers at UJA: David Vera Candeas dvera@ujaen.es (INYTE research group of the Department of Electrical Engineering) and Roberto García Ruiz rgarcia@ujaen.es (University Institute of Research on Olive Grove and Olive Oils). They will coordinate the implementation of the protocol previously designed in the consortium’s olive groves. This involves measuring the CO2 credits, presenting the results to the international standard organization for verification and certification of CO2 credits, and exchanging these carbon credits in the voluntary market through accredited operators.
Budget: € 1,800,000.00
CLIMATE CROPPING
Climate-smart management for resilient European farming systems (CLIMATE CROPPING)
ClimateCropping aims to provide scientific evidence, mainly based on long-term experiments (LTE), on how management of agricultural soils can contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation, improved nutrient cycling of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and other co-benefits associated with European crops (cereals, woody and horticultural crops) and pedo-climatic conditions.
Coordinator: Magdalena Necpalova – University College of Dublín, Ireland
Partner: University of Jaén (UJA), Spain
Coordinator researchers at UJA: David Vera Candeas dvera@ujaen.es (INYTE research group of the Department of Electrical Engineering) and Roberto García Ruiz rgarcia@ujaen.es (University Institute of Research on Olive Grove and Olive Oils). Its mission is to assess the environmental impact, carbon footprint and contribution to climate change mitigation of living labs of different crops located in different parts of Europe.
Budget: € 1,500,000.00
SOIL O-LIVE
The soil biodiversity and functionality of mediterranean olive groves: a holistic analysis of the influence of land management on olive oil quality and safety (SOIL O-LIVE)
Soil O-live aims (i) to analyze the impact of pollution and land degradation on soils from olive groves in terms of multi-biodiversity, ecological function at different levels of organization and scales; (ii) to investigate the relationship of soil health status with quality and safety of olive oil; (iii) to implement effective soil amendments and ecological restoration practices that promote manifest soil biodiversity and functionality enhancements in permanent Mediterranean olive orchards across its native range of distribution, that should be translated to improvements in olive oil quality and safety; (iv) to define rigorous ecological thresholds that allow to implement future clear norms and regulations in order to design a novel certification for healthy soils in European olive orchards.
Coordinator: Antonio José Manzaneda Ávila amavila@ujaen.es (University Institute of Research on Olive Grove and Olive Oils)
Budget: € 6,988,660,00
SUSTAINOLIVE
Novel approaches to promote the SUSTAInability of OLIVE groves in the Mediterranea (SUSTAINOLIVE)
The main goal of SUSTAINOLIVE is to improve the sustainability of the olive oil sector, through the implementation and promotion of a set of innovative sustainable management solutions, based on agroecological concepts, as well as in the exchange of knowledge and participation of multiple associates and end users.
Coordinator: Roberto García Ruiz rgarcia@ujaen.es (University Institute of Research on Olive Grove and Olive Oils)
Budget: € 2,032,640.17
LIFE OLIVE ALIVE
Olive Alive. Toward the design and certification of olive groves reconciled with biodiversity.
This is an initiative to increase the profitability of the olive grove by recovering its biodiversity. It is a demonstration project that will implement profitable and biodiverse olive growing models. Scientifically sustained models that will generate oils identified and certified by a trademark of added value.
Coordinator: José Eugenio Gutiérrez (SEO/BirdLife)
Budget: € 2,856,005.00
ARTOLIO
Profitable and Sustainable artisanal olive oil industry in the Mediterranean (ARTOLIO)
ARTOLIO aims at establishing, in each participating region, a Native Olive Regional Knowledge Center (NOReKC) which will provide up-to-date training on how an artisanal EVOO should be produced in order to remain competitive; and, at defining a networking management model for artisanal EVOO through a Pan-Mediterranean Platform comprising all NOReKC, which will assist MSMEs across the Mediterranean region in marketing, sales, finance, policy and legislation, at national level and in entering new global markets.
Coordinator: Giora Ben-Ari (National Agricultural Research Center, Israel)
Partner: Universidad de Jaén (INUO-UJA), España
Coordinator researcher at UJA: Sebastián Sánchez Villasclaras ssanchez@ujaen.es (University Institute of Research on Olive Grove and Olive Oils)
Budget: € 2,900,000.00
GEN4OLIVE
Mobilization of Olive GenRes through pre-breeding activities to face the future challenges and development of an intelligent interface to ensure friendly information availability for end users (GEN4OLIVE)
The overall objective of GEN4OLIVE project is to accelerate the mobilisation of Olive GenRes and enhance olive pre-breeding activities through a multi-actor approach, by:
- Developing easy-to-use tools to leverage the information collected through a smart user-friendly interface that will implement big data and machine learning utilities.
- Involving SMEs through the launching of specific calls and financial support.
Coordinator: Concepción Muñoz Díez (University of Córdoba)
Budget: € 7,385,558.36
NOVATERRA
Integrated novel strategies for reducing the use and impact of pesticides, towards sustainable mediterranean vineyards and olive groves (NOVATERRA)
NOVATERRA is focused on ensuring food security and healthy food access for the increasing population. Through a series of case studies in Mediterranean olive groves and vineyards, the project aims to understand whether it is possible to maintain current yields and quality in Europe and in other regions while eliminating or significantly reducing the use of contentious plant protection products (also known as pesticides).
Coordinator: Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA, Spain)
Budget: € 5,507,110.20
BEXYL
Beyond Xylella, Integrated Management Strategies for Mitigating Xylella fastidiosa impact in Europe (BEXYL)
BeXyl is an EU-funded research project involving more than 40 scientific institutions, NGOs, companies, governmental agencies, and farmers’ and nurseries associations worldwide that is designed to improve the management of diseases caused by the quarantine plant bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. The aim of BeXyl is to promote a multidisciplinary approach and innovative solutions to go beyond emergency measures and develop new strategies for sustainable control of Xylella fastidiosa in Europe.
Coordinator: Blanca Landa del Castillo (Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible , CSIC, Spain)
Budget: € 7,089,069.00
CLIMOLIVEMED
The ClimOliveMed project acknowledges that tomorrow’s Mediterranean olive growing will have to link the issues of adaptation to climate change, biodiversity and sustainable production.Based on a partnership between academic and professional actors of the olive sector on the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean, we are betting on diversity as a bulwark against global changes: diversity of varieties, diversity of production systems and diversity of olive actors: olive growers, processors, olive interprofessions, genetic resources managers and researchers.
Coordinator: Bouchaib Khadari (CIRAD, France)
Budget: € 1,750,000.00
OLEA4VALUE
Innovative system for olive leaf upcycling
The olive oil producing countries in the Mediterranean basin also produce 4.5 million tonnes of olive leaves each year. These leaves – a source of bioactive compounds – need to be removed from fields and the olive mills. The EU-funded OLEAF4VALUE project has set up a consortium of highly experienced partners to develop a valorisation system for this biomass. The consortium will address all levels of the value chain: raw material, biorefining, post-extraction technologies, market validation and sustainability assessment. OLEAF4VALUE will install the foundations of a smart value chain based on the recently developed 4.0 concept Smart Dynamic Multi-Valorisation-Route Biorefinery, or SAMBIO, for the cascade valorisation of olive biomass.
Coordinator: NATAC BIOTECH SL (Spain)
Budget: € 5,687,060.00
BIOVEXO
The BIOVEXO Project is a Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI-JU) Innovation Action .
The BIOVEXO Project aims to produce and test innovative biopesticides, bringing them to a TRL 7-8 (close to market entry) for use in organic and non-organic production systems, specifically:
- Reducing Xylella pressure and disease severity in olive cultivation
- Protecting and securing long-established olive orchards
- Preventing Xylella infections and disease in new olive plantations
- Securing and sustaining jobs in disease affected areas
- Ensuring continued olive and almond cultivation
Coordinator: Stéphane Compant (Austrian Institute of Technology AIT, Austria)
Budget: € 8,025,112.41
Tackling Multi-Host Pathogenicity of Xylella by Assisted Immunity
Saving Europe’s olive trees
The EU-funded MultiX project aims to reduce disease in crops without yield losses. The project will use a multi-host method combined with dual transcriptomics to systematically analyse bacterial and plant signatures related to disease caused by X. fastidiosa. It will identify virulence factors and plant immunity determinants to understand host susceptibility and reveal immune receptors controlling X. fastidiosa infection. Consequently, it will assist the immune system at different levels of plant tissue organisation with the targeted expression of immune receptors.
Coordinator:Ludwig-Maximilians Universitaet Muenchen (Germany)
Budget: € 2,499,260.00
LIFE COMPOLIVE
New generation of bioCOMPosites based on OLIVE fibers for industrial applications (LIFE COMPOLIVE)
LIFE COMP0LIVE project aims to develop a new generation of biocomposites based on olive pruning waste for industrial applications, by boosting the substitution of non-renewable resources through sustainable product design of wood-based fibers.
Coordinator: Manuela Cano Garey (ANDALTEC, Spain)
Partner: Universidad de Jaén (INUO-UJA), España
Coordinator researcher at UJA: Maria Dolores La Rubia mdrubia@ujaen.es (University Institute of Research on Olive Grove and Olive Oils)
Budget: € 1,818,362.00
BIONEXT
The Biodiversity Nexus – Triggering transformative change for sustainability (BIONEXT)
BIONEXT will develop knowledge, tools, and guidance for mainstreaming biodiversity into policy making and provide concrete options on how to initiate, accelerate and upscale biodiversity relevant transformative change in society.
Coordinator: Anna-Stiina Heiskanen (SYKE)
Budget: € 4,100,000.00